how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

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Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

hello there people, my name is Paul, Fidgit Green is the name of my little guy.

i am new to this site and new to bird ownership, Fidgit is my first bird and he is
6 months and i have had him from 5 days old.
now because being so young he didnt understand word, so the word No didnt do anything
i started to make a noise to stop him from doing certain things, i is kind of a short sharp TSSS.
however, now he is getting to he point that he is pushing his luck, he knows what the noise means and that i want him to stop doing what he is doing.
he has started to act like this for example, (fidgit trying to chew my computer cords) chomp, chomp,
TSSS!, stop and turn away for a moment then turn back, chomp chomp chomp, TSSS!, stop and get all pissed off and then back in, chomp chomp take a chuck of cable with him just as i have to push him away to get him to stop.

i hope you were able to follow that lol.

now the point i am getting at is that i wanted some advice on what i can do to try and get him hot listen and stop when i tell him to.
obviously i dont want to do anything that will destroy our bond, but it is getting really very frustrating.

i am disabled so i spend alot of time lying on my bed watching tv or on my computer, and i have things like my phone charger, laptop power cord, hard drive cords ect, even my tv remote is an issue with him trying to chew off the buttons lol.
he is mostly pretty good and generally stays away from the area of my bed that has the cords and things on it, but its mostly when i have my laptop on my lap he gets really naughty.
i have let him have a good look at the laptop and all the other stuff, i am even happy to have him standing on the edge of the laptop while im using it so he doesnt feel left out, but its just him constantly trying to chew the crap out of it all the time.
he has his own chew toys on the bed that he chews on all the time and i swap them out for new ones regularly.

i just wanted to find out if there was something i can do about this as he has stopped listening to me more and more and been pushing and pushing, even started pushing his luck with things he normally completely leaves alone.

now i know that this has been a rather long post, but i just wanted to give you as much info as i could so that someone may be able to give my the right advice.

thank you all, and waiting to hear back
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by MissK »

Hi Paul,

I don't know about training the bird the bird for this, but I can suggest some human coping strategy. I have experience with a dog who was taking a medicine that made her want to eat *everything* that would fit in her mouth, and also to reduce and then eat everything too big for her mouth. It was critical to her survival to prevent this unless I were to crate her all the time, so I learned.

All your little things like the remote, cell phone, glasses if you wear them and take them off, can go into a box with a lid. Make it the sort of box not easily opened by a Ringneck. For tiny things, it could be as easy as one of those hard eyeglasses cases that snaps shut with a spring. A shoebox would also work, even if you had to add some traction inside the lid. Your cords can be sheathed in a bit of tube or pipe from the home improvement store. Go or send a friend and just see what's there that you can live with. Flexible tube can generally be slit lengthwise with a craft knife and the cords stored inside, or if it's wide enough, just drop the cords through it. Once it gets to a certain large size diameter, your bird should have trouble getting his beak around it. I didn't need this for the dog, but you can also build or have built a box around the back of your computer/TV/etc unless you can put them in an old-fashioned stereo cabinet. I suggest you have a skilled friend build a lighweight box housing around that stuff. Or you could use some thick cardboard and just renew it once it gets destroyed.

Lastly, I know you said you have toys, but you might try harder to distract the animal with something more attractive. Maybe you can have somebody build a bed-side bird stand and include little nooks and crannies to wedge foraging food items where he will have to work to get them and keep busy. I don't like to suggest a ready-made bird stand because they just don't look to me like they would hold anybody's attention, and provide no incentive for the bird to remain there.

I hope you can get some ideas here, and maybe get a springboard to devise some of your own. If you do have a strategy that fixes the problem, by all means let us know!

Good Luck!

-MissK
-MissK
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by InTheAir »

Heyo,

'don't do that' or anything like that does not appear exist in parrot mentality.

The fortification techniques Missk suggested are a great idea.
I have found playstands with natural bark keep our bird entertained best. I leave a piece of overhanging bark when I make a new play perch as an extra (free) toy.

I have some suggestions for making toys more fun then cords; playing with the toy yourself while ignoring the bird usually piques our bird interest, especially if you pretend to use your mouth.
If your bird likes to be on you wearing a bird toy necklace helps me, mine is actually a piece of Greenstone that I've had for years - but a custom bird one would be better. I used the necklace yesterday to distract Nele from chasing the cursor on my laptop screen. I usually keep it tucked under my shirt, so he literally pounced on it when he saw it!
Since your bird likes cords maybe some rawhide strips (birdsafe ones) could give him that cordchewing experience he craves without the potential electrocution.

My strategy if I want to use the computer is to do some trick training after breakfast and then encourage him to fly around the house for 15 minutes after that. That seems to exercise his mind and body enough that he will settle down and play quietly by himself with anything he's given until he's ready for a nap. If I skip this he tends to be all over me like a puppy, trying to distract my attention from the computer, if this doesn't get the results he wants he starts trying to destroy the computer.

goodluck!
Claire
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

thank you Misk and claire.
you have given me alot to think about.

i have a play stand kind of under construction at the moment, well i have gotten as far as making the stand and base and come to a bit of builders block. i had a few ideas of how to build it when i started but now i am not so sure of what is the best thing to do.
do you have and designs that would be suitable to stimulate? maybe a picture of your play stand to give me a few ideas?

as for letting him fly to blow off steam, unfortunately i have his wings clip because i am unable to handle him he can fly, especially when i take him out with me some times.

when i first got him, i wanted to have a companion that i could with me where ever i went, an friend that i could take to and would talk back to me.
but i had no idea how much he would chew on everything (hes worse than a dog with chewing things).
it has been a challenge to keep up with him, but it has been a good challenge and i wouldnt change it for the world.
i have trained my share of dogs in the past before becoming disabled and they have been a piece of cake compared Fidgit, as frustrating as it gets at times, i love him to bits and i am glad for the challenge and the companion.

thank you
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by MissK »

Hi Paul,

I also enjoy the "step up" from training dogs. I made my share of mistakes, and paid for them, with Rocky, but nothing tragic so far, and I am thrilled with the way we are both always learning about ourselves and each other.

I have not built a play stand yet - actually I have a fresh post out on houseplants. I am thinking of something with natural branches and potted plants to kind of simulate a large jungle tree. We'll see how that goes! Because my bird does fly, he has some natural branch perches around the room. The favourite one is hanging in the doorway between living room and dining room - it is set just a hair over my own height so I can walk under it, and it swings from two ropes as well as rotates like an axle because it's not tied tight. There are a hanging food cup and a few hanging toys there also. Food cup is the fave, of course.

I really enjoy tinkering with Rocky's environment, and I guess I'll be "improving" it forever. I have, in his extra-large cage, the things I would have otherwise put on a playstand. He has ropes, including a rope I braided myself and built in chew toys. The toys are slipped onto the strand just before it is twisted in the braid, so the toys are locked into the rope. He also has a hanging branch which seems popular. Another big, big win is the hanging half a coconut shell, though any bowl would do. He loves tossing foot toys out of it. In your case, I might tie on the foot toys with a 10 inch string, for easy fetching. And he also likes putting his toys into stuff - another small bowl or short cup would do, though you should fix it so it doesn't tip. And, maybe my bird is simple, but he just loves a wad of crumpled newspaper.

Since chewing is Fidgit's big thing, you should give lots of stuff to chew. Rocky likes different types of twigs, paper, cardboard, jute cord, and those little alphabet blocks from the rodent section of Petco. Those blocks are the favourite. They must be birdie crack. Rocky also likes little foot toys with texture. A simple ridged seashell is a big win with him. As you must recall from training dogs, don't give him anything to chew that resembles anything you don't want him chewing. Also, maybe he should be getting big and bulky food stuff, like a tangerine or kiwi with a tiny access hole in the skin. Rocky loves to hollow out a kiwi.

One last thing, for blowing off steam, he might like to chase a ball, like a ping pong ball.

Good luck!
-MissK
-MissK
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by InTheAir »

I don't have the technical computer skills to share photos, but my boyfriend has offered to post them some pics later. Our play perches are bottlebrush branches plaited into a jute rope and hung from the curtain rails, but designed for a flying bird, so they mightn't suit your bird...

Missk: I have never heard that one shouldn't give similar objects before. Why is that? I had a collie who loved tennis balls, and we had no trouble teaching her that any other kind of ball was out of bounds. She attended numerous juggling clubs and conventions and only the tennis ball jugglers got hassled by her.. But they were fair game to her, luckily most of them didn't mind having a dog help them when they dropped a ball!
Our little bird has destroyed my round, black leather necklace strap, but hardly ever looks at any of the cords and cables when he's running around the computer desk.... He likes the keys, the cursor and any important paperwork he can find... and destroy... :mrgreen: If he is chewing on something unsuitable I generally try to find a similar object to replace it with...

Claire
ellieelectrons
Posts: 2708
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by ellieelectrons »

Hi Paul

I don't have much to add to the fine responses you've already had but I do want to say is that all of those behaviours are normal. My guys like to do those same things. They are especially interested in items see you using. So putting the remote control away as soon as you've used it is a great idea.

Ellie.
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

oh no, i just wrote out a big long reply, and for some reason it hasnt shown up
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by MissK »

Hi Claire,

It's just because not every animal is so bright as yours clearly is, just to prevent confusion and mistakes.

-MissK
-MissK
Redzone
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:27 am

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Redzone »

Just tried to post a pic but apparently i'm still a new user!
Redzone
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:27 am

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Redzone »

Try again now i have 10 posts:

This is Nele's jungle gym in the lounge room, we built him a couple of these because he developed a penchant for destroying cornices, once he had a good distraction problem solved!

Image
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

thanks for the pic, i would do some things like that around my room but we rent our house so i have to be careful what i do to the house. but i have just brought a few things on ebay so i cam make up a few different toy
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

arrgh, i am so annoyed that my post didnt show up, it was long post and it was a good one but now i cant remember what i put in it lol. so frustrating
Redzone
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:27 am

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Redzone »

Yeah mate we rent, i had to repair the cornices that he bit into, hence why we made these hanging toys. As you can see, fitting them to the curtain rails has not damaged anything, and can all be undone in a matter of minutes..
Redzone
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:27 am

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Redzone »

Here is a pic of Nele's training perch we made:

Image
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

oh thats cool, and would be simple to make, i see the little ring toss toy on the table, does he put the ring on and off it?
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

i just strung a necklace together to hopefully help keep fidgit occupied and away from my cord, i know it wont keep him away for good but at least its a start.

i have a video that i have been trying to put a link up for, but im still to new, i have been wanting to know what it means when he does this certain type of behavior, i dont know if its mean as aggression, dominance or something else.
Redzone
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:27 am

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Redzone »

Yeah that's it, and yes he does! The absolute funniest thing he has done, is just after learning that trick, he refused treats for a good few minutes while he repeatedly picked up and dropped the ring over the ring toss toy to work out the best way to hold it in his beak/which side to hold it on/amount of force required to lift it high enough etc etc. Never in my life have i seen an animal practice technique, he was obsessed!
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

lol i bet you wish you had it on video.

i want to teach fidgit to do tricks like that or putting blocks through the right shaped hole ect, but he seems like all he wants to do is chew, chew, chew, and then chew some more, and when he can, just totally destroy whatever it it
Redzone
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:27 am

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Redzone »

Yeah distracting him is really the key, and training is a great distraction!
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by InTheAir »

Hey Paul,
I hope this post is still relevant, I've tried to submit it about 4 times.

I lost an epic post when my phone died once, i feel your pain!

The training perch base is a chair i got from the dump and cut the back off, and a couple screws hold it all together... It's a bit wobbly due to my lack of skill at cutting branches straight, but Nele doesn't mind. We had toys and stuff hanging from it before it became the training perch. As Dave said, since we made play perches we have had a huge reduction in cornice chewing so far (fingers crossed it continues). We put cuttlefish on the perches under his favourite cornices too, for that cornice chewing feel.

The ring toss is Neles favourite. He likes a challenge. Here's a video from a month or 2 ago of him http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=LVRrfdHD ... VRrfdHDesw

We found he got sick of chewing the ring quite quickly when he found that he got treats for putting it places. He is a bottomless pit where treats are.concerned!


Claire
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

hi claire,
for a moment there i was a little confused, i see now that you and Redzone are obviously a couple with different user accounts, anyway, i thought that video was really cool to watch.
your bird it very good at his tricks.

would you or anyone else have any suggestion on how to start getting fidgit to start taking something from me and putting it in a bowl or something like that?
because when i give him something he just grabs it and runs off and chews on it, and if i try to go to near him with my hands or something, he either gets annoyed and just trys to get further away with it or he drops it and moves away himself leaving it behind.

i was thinking, would the best place to start maybe be, give him something and try get him to step up on my hand, then when he is on my hand hold him over the bowl and show him a treat, and when he drops what i gave him so he can have the treat it will land in the bowl and i can reward him for it?

or if you have any other suggestions of where i could start, i would most appreciate hearing about it.

cheers
puppypundit
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 2:21 pm

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by puppypundit »

InTheAir wrote: 'don't do that' or anything like that does not appear exist in parrot mentality.
Hahahahahahahahahaha!

Yes, this is so true! Berry got 5 keys of the partner's laptop, one off my MacBook Air, two off my Blackberry.
It's not a question of supervision, it's not a question of training, I just have to be quicker than her.

She always seems to find a way to the "thing with buttons" and no amount of discipline or scolding makes her think twice about going back for more buttons given the opportunity.
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

one thing i find really interesting when it comes to Fidgit, is that even with all the problems i have with him trying to chew everything i have.
i have never had had him try to get at my medication.

if i am lying on my bed with him and i have anything with me (sitting on my chest/stomach, in my hands, in my mouth) he its usually straight into trying to get it.
last night i had a little bead in my mouth while i was making his necklace, and as i was rolling it around if he saw just a glimpse of it he was all of a sudden right in my face trying to get into my mouth lol.

however, when i take my regular pill during the day, i pop it out of the pack and the hold it between my lips while i grab my water bottle and open it. he can be sitting on my chest right by my face and he does even seem to take any notice of it, (well he will sit there and watch me, but wont make any acknowledgment of want to get the pill), even when i have to open a bottle and shake out a couple pills onto my stomach while again i get my bottle of water, he will just sit there and watch and not even flinch, but if i was to do it with anything else he is straight into it.

its just an interesting observation of behavior that has got me wondering what has made him not interested in the pills, he has never tried to get them ever before, so i have not even had to tell him that he cant have them.

he has a couple times tried to pinch a blister pack off my bedside cabinet before, but that was only because it was a crinkley thing for him to chew, but never the pills on their own.
InTheAir
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Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by InTheAir »

Hey Paul,
Opps sorry to confuse you. ;p We are both very involved parronts.

That's awesome that he doesn't go for pills, he is a very sensible little parrot!

That's basically the way to go with training him to place objects. I got Nele to retrieve by giving him the ring when he was on the edge of the table and having the container ready under it so even if he didn't get a grip on the ring it fell in the right place.... Um I also demonstrated the trick to him and told myself I was a good human.... I don't know if that bit is necessary or helpful.... I just do it with new tricks in the hope he'll pick it up lol. He cottoned onto the idea within a few tries so i moved the container further away, then to the perch.
Nele already knew what 'good bird' meant so i used this to encourage him when he was considering moving towards the container.
It can be a bit of a patience game, waiting for bird to get bored and drop the toy the first few times.
Nele was quite easy because his favourite game is 'drop a toy and get the humans to fetch it'.

If he is running away with the toy you may have to convince him that you aren't after his toy first... I'd do that by bribing him to give up the toy... Since they can't fit a sunflower seed and a toy in their mouth at the same time, it's fairly simple to hold the treat in a way that allows the toy to fall into your hand when he goes for the treat. I started this one by offering him my hand palm up and holding the treat with the other hand. Now i just offer him the open palm and the treat only appears after he has given me the object.
That's also a useful trick for getting objects off him that tyre little bugger isn't supposed to be playing with, while building trust and improving your relationship.

Um sorry this post is really long and rambling.
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

it wasnt that long, it was really good.
it has explained alot for me, and now i have a base to work from to start training him.
i have been wanting to start training him for a long time now, but i have been wondering what the best age to start training is, also i have only managed in the last month to get him to stop bite me as he had a bit of hand aggression for a while, but i have pretty much got that sorted now and have just been getting him more used to being handled more.
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by InTheAir »

I think training really helps both the bird and owner understand each other. Even just simple things like stepping up, it helps build trust. Also your bird may start doing tricks to get your attention in a positive way. Nele will pick up his ring spontaneously and drop it in the container then look at you pointedly when he is being ignored.

I'm not sure what the easiest trick to start with is, we started with flying to us when called and turning a circle on our hands.

We haven't had an issues with hand aggression, which we believe is because our bird has always been flighted so he can just bugger off if he feels too threatened or uncomfortable.

Keep us updated on how the training comes along. I'm sure you'll both have lots of fun!
Fidgit_Green
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:35 am
Location: North Brisbane, QLD Australia

Re: how to make him stop doing what he is doing.

Post by Fidgit_Green »

Fidgit will step up perfectly fine, which i think ended up just being a fluke.
he doesnt like other people, well i guess he just doesnt trust other people, but one night about a month ago i was lying on my bed and my 18 month old nephew came in my room because he wanted to try and feed fidgit a treat (which he doesnt normally take from anyone other than me), fidgit was on my chest when i sat up so he ended up just clinging to the front of my shirt so i managed to get my hand under him and get him to stand on it and he actually stayed there for the first time, so i held him out and my nephew held out the treat and to my surprise fidgit actually to it.
now from that night for a good couple weeks he wouldnt leave my hands alone, always climbing on them and chewing on every bit he could (not very hard), no matter what i was doing with my hand, and as long as i didnt move them to fast he didnt have any aggression towards them anymore. it got to the point i was having to stuff my hands under me or under a pillow or something to stop him from climbing all over them any chance he could.
so because during those couple of weeks he was sitting on my hands most of the time, i would just lift him up and put him on my shoulder or put him on his cage, so he automatically figured out that if i put my hand in front of him that i was going to put him up.

as for the hand aggression, i think it started because with my disability, my hands have contracted and are stuck in a half closed state with only having my thumbs movable, so i have never really been able to handle Fidgit properly, i was always some awkward uncomfortable (for him) way of trying to handle him. so i can understand it hand aggression.
but luckily with him getting older i have been able to just get him to go where i want him to go on his own, so i dont have to try awkwardly to handle him anymore.

and as for keep you guys updated, i will definitely do that.
it has been so great to be able to chat on here to people that understand about the things that we all talk about.
i only have a couple of people i could talk to about Fidgit, and the have no idea of what im talking about when i tell them thing.
theres just some things that no one has a clue about unless they themselves have had their own IRN.

so yea ill definity keep you updated, ill probably end up posts a few things on here in the future.
i am still waiting to be allowed to post a link so i can ask everyone if they can explain a thing that he does all the time.

well i think this reply is long enough for now. lol.

Cheers
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